Free Liar by Joanna Gosse

all, neither could she do anything but feel helpless and wait for the drama to unfold.

    It didn’t take long. As soon as the dinner plates were cleared away and the troublemakers had felt foolish long enough having to stand and wait, they walked into the room. The Chiefs of the Beaver, Salmon, and Moose Clans and twelve village elders marched by the head table and placed small pebbles on the table in front of Sam. Not Migmatite, but ordinary beach pebbles. A sign of great displeasure and disrespect. A gasp of horror went through the room. Dan Black grabbed the microphone and proceeded to state his case.
    “My people! Sam Eagle is not worthy to be Chief. He has not proven his worth. He hasn’t lived here in many years. I have great respect for his grandmother and grandfather, but my son should have been named as Chief. My son, Black Eagle, is a great carver and he has lived here his whole life. He has brought great honour to our people. Black Eagle will be Chief of our Eagle Clan. We will celebrate the Thunder Ceremony next month when the moon is full. It will be the biggest Thunder Ceremony in memory and many gifts will be given to our people.”
    Sam, Bear and Anita stood up and walked over to the troublemakers. China moved to the back of the hall, unable to sit still any longer. May joined her almost in tears.
    “China, this hasn’t happened in memory. I don’t understand. It’s a sign of great disrespect and Sam hasn’t done anything to deserve it.”
    China was incapable of speaking. She was horrified by the negative energy in the room. She could feel Sam’s distress and she wondered how he’d charm himself out of this fiasco. Obviously not everyone was impressed with Sam’s charm. It took all of her willpower just to stay in the room and not bring further disgrace to her husband by running.
    Finally, Sam grabbed the microphone.
    “You say you respect my grandmother and grandfather and yet you show great disrespect by not following our traditions. I returned to my home because I, Sam Eagle, was named by my grandmother to become Chief of our Eagle Clan. You have dirtied a respected and ancient tradition with your evil ways. Leave now and take your ugly friends with you.”

    The six Chiefs at the head table then stood up and glared at Dan Black with faces of stone. Dan and his group all slunk out of the hall looking pretty foolish. Did they think the rest of the village would follow them? They were wrong. Some of the women were in tears. Anita made a statement in the Grimshaw language and then Sam told everyone that considering the circumstances, he could not continue with the Thunder Ceremony, but the naming ceremony would still happen and the gifts would still be given out.
    Part of the Thunder Ceremony included adopting outsiders into the clan, or giving a new name to certain individuals for various reasons. Either a child had graduated from school, or a baby had been born, etcetera. China was formally adopted into the clan as Sam’s wife and she was given the Grimshaw name of “Jaadrdriikmaal,” which roughly translated to “Woman Who Shapes Wood.” China found the Grimshaw language to be unpronounceable and so did a lot of the Grimshaws. The old people bestowed the names and China smiled ruefully when Anita translated what the name meant. Grimshaw women weren’t allowed to carve. That distinction was reserved for the mighty warriors. They had cleverly gotten around that rule by calling her a wood shaper. China had been smart enough not to copy and “shape” any traditional designs. She stuck to her own vision knowing that she’d be run out of town the moment she tried to copy anything remotely Grimshaw.
    When the last of the gifts were given out, China helped clean up the mess at the hall and then sank wearily into bed when they returned home. Sam, Anita, May and Jim talked long into the night but China didn’t want to hear about the whys and wherefores, and was tired of hearing about the Crab